Soccer-Palermo axe De Zerbi, appoint Corini as coach

ROME, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Palermo have sacked head coach Roberto De Zerbi and appointed Eugenio Corini as his replacement, the Italian club said on Wednesday.

The Serie A side were eliminated from the Italian Cup by second-tier side Spezia on Wednesday and despite chairman Maurizio Zamparini publicly backing De Zerbi this week, the coach was relieved of his duties following the defeat.

"Having assessed the first-team situation, the club feel compelled to change the technical leadership and entrust the team to Eugenio Corini," the club said in a statement on their website. (www.palermocalcio.it)

Palermo have lost every home Serie A game this season and are 19th in the standings with six points from 14 matches.

Corini, whose last managerial role ended in 2014 when he was sacked by Chievo, became Palermo's third coach of the season, with De Zerbi having replaced Davide Ballardini two games into the campaign. (Reporting by Ed Dove, editing by Ed Osmond)